The North Coast 500, often called Scotland’s ultimate road trip, is a scenic 516-mile route that loops around the northern coast of Scotland, showcasing some of the country’s most stunning landscapes, from rugged coastlines and towering mountains to historic castles and charming villages.
You’ll have probably heard of the famous Scottish 500 route, possibly in a good light and possibly in a negative light. Sadly the popularity of this famous road trip has led to some pretty angry locals, who suffer the heavy traffic of travellers and unfortunately the mess they sometimes leave behind.
Our Easter 2018 trip was focused on completing the 500 route anticlockwise, with my wife being 7 months pregnant the usual itinerary of running rapids in our kayaks, mountain biking down single tracks and skiing off the side of a mountain off the menu. We took the opportunity to get the 500 ticked off our bucket list, but with a mindset of supporting the local small businesses with our trade as we travelled. Our hope being that if we could set a good example of courteous driving, leaving no mess and giving the small shops and attractions our business that a favourable light could be cast for others wanting to complete the trip.
Our trip started in Inverness travelling along the steep cliff edge coast heading north. Scotland is a place of beauty and points of interest, which means sometimes the highs cast a poor review on the lows. For us the east coast was the low, with only a few places to stop and a whole heap of driving we found it to be the least attractive part of the trip. Although please note this was our view at the time, we could easily of missed some amazing points of interest. The North and the West coasts are so utterly amazing on the flip side, and even now writing this I find myself day dreaming of the next trip and how I can sneak us a little further north on the West coast.
We did this trip in our first self built campervan, the trusty VW Transporter with pop top roof. So we did a mixture of wild camps and campsites when we needed a shower and top up of water and power. The drive alone is spectacular, from driving one minute through mountains out of Lord Of the Rings to driving along coastal roads looking out at the beautiful blue sea. There are dozens of short walks and attractions all the way along the trip, my favourites included Smoo Cave where you have to jump on a raft within the cave pool to access the back of the cave on foot, walking on the beautiful white sandy beaches on the west coast and catching the ferry back to the mainland from Skye.
We will 100% be returning to re-visit parts of the 500, going up the West coast.
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